Press Office
Athens, 27 May 2021
Meeting of President of Hellenic Parliament with President of European Parliament
“The pandemic taught us to operate both in a democratic and careful manner. The fact that you kept the European Parliament open, the fact that we kept the Hellenic Parliament open and functioning is not just a feat of technology, it is a feat of democracy” said, inter alia, the President of the Hellenic Parliament Constantine Tassoulas welcoming in the Hellenic Parliament the President of the European Parliament David Maria Sassoli. “A more efficient, more functional European democracy truly guarantees the protection of our freedoms and will allow us to overcome the current crisis” noted for his part Mr. Sassoli who is in Greece on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Greece’s accession to the European Economic Community.
During their meeting, the President of the Hellenic Parliament and the President of the European Parliament made the following statements:
C. Tassoulas: It is an honour and a pleasure to welcome you to the Hellenic Parliament as a guest of my country, Greece, which celebrates 40 years since its integration into the European family. In the very building that in the summer of 1961 the then Europe of six signed the Association Agreement with Greece. In the same Parliament which in the summer of 1979 voted in favour of the Accession Agreement of Greece to the then EEC. At the time, a prominent compatriot of yours, Emilio Colombo, played an important role in that connection.
Both in 1961 and in 1979 Greece had the same Prime Minister. Konstantinos Karamanlis!
Today, Mr. President, you, a prominent European, are called upon along with all of us to address the challenges ahead. You personally set the tone, with music no less – you are after all from Florence – on the 9th of May, when the unprecedented Conference on the Future of Europe began. Today, my country, Greece, at Zappeion Megaron, in your presence, will kick off in its own way the Conference on the Future of Europe. The decisive presence of the European Parliament in this unprecedented endeavour is a guarantee that the views of the citizens will be heard and that the most interesting ones will be adopted.
The European Parliament has recently played an important role in European developments. First of all, as it swiftly approved the recovery plans that give Europe some breathing space after the pandemic. Second of all, because it struck a compromise with the Council and we are moving forward on the EU Digital COVID Certificate, which will give all countries some breathing space vis-à-vis citizen mobility, especially the ones that rely on tourism. And third, the European Parliament with its integrity, responsibilities and prestige, is a stronghold that protects our values, our human rights and our democratic principles.
Mr. President, the pandemic taught us to operate both in a democratic and careful manner. The fact that you kept the European Parliament open, the fact that we kept the Hellenic Parliament open and functioning is not just a feat of technology, it is a feat of democracy.
D. Sassoli: I am particularly pleased that my visit in your country begins from the Hellenic Parliament which is playing a very significant role for democracy in your country and in Europe. Friendship and relations between parliaments help all of us on our common path. Parliaments are at the heart of democratic systems and whenever authoritarianism seeks to attack our parliaments it essentially seeks to weaken our democratic systems.
Mr. President, we must ensure cooperation between our parliaments, and we must help parliaments collaborate, because we are all an integral part of the European vehicle. And the more national and EU institutions work together, the stronger Europe’s democracy will become and better able to guarantee our freedom and the protection of our common values.
You mentioned the path of the European Parliament and the choice to hold the Conference on the Future of Europe, a choice the European Parliament made, and I thank you for this; because the fifteen months of the pandemic have shown us what is truly functioning and what we need to improve upon. And what needs to be improved upon needs our attention and our commitment. This is something we wish to do together with national parliaments. It is something we wish to do in cooperation with the citizens and by listening to their voices.
A more efficient, more functional European democracy truly guarantees the protection of our freedoms and will allow us to overcome the current crisis and any crisis. I feel that this truly is the best legacy of the Greek civilisation to humanity; Greece taught us that with democracy people can live better lives.”
Then, the President of the European Parliament and the President of the Hellenic Parliament went to the Plenary Hall, where Mr. Sassoli briefed the members of the Special Standing Committee on European Affairs and of the Standing Committee on National Defence and Foreign Affairs on the agenda item “Europe after the pandemic”.
High resolution images
Back